SOLSTICE ARTS CENTRE

The Future is Open marks the 20th anniversary of Solstice Arts Centre, and its continued commitment to showcasing and commissioning contemporary Irish artists. The Future is Open is a celebration of future possibilities. Taking its title from the last sentence spoken by theoretical physicist, Professor Fay Dowker, in Grace Weir’s film ‘Time Tries All Things’, this exhibition brings together a selection of previously exhibited artists, whose work explores expansive theories of space, time and the cosmos, embracing ancient and technological ciphers of prophetic divination as a means for understanding the human experience in the post-human era of AI and global climate crises. Throughout history, mankind has looked to celestial bodies, deities and the natural world for spiritual guidance, enlightenment and instruction. In Ancient Greek astronomy, the practice of reading the skies through asterisms was relied on for navigation. In Ancient Rome, augury was the widespread sacred practice of observing the migratory flight patterns of birds, to interpret omens from the gods. Today, AI predictive systems have replaced mystical practices as the definitive speculative prognostic in contemporary society. In this exhibition, alternative environments and future realities are presented through a cross-section of photography, film, sculptural installation and painting. Each artwork represents an enquiry into the great unknown - an exploration of the outer regions of space and the universe - and to micro-cosmic revelations within our natural environment. Objects, materials and nonhuman actors become instrumentalised to act as portals to other worlds; divine soothsayers that illuminate the path to navigate this current moment and future reality.

Solstice Arts Centre is delighted to announce TRACING ECHOES, a major exhibition by acclaimed Irish artist Mark Francis. Known for his dynamic and visually arresting paintings, Francis creates works charged with movement, sound, and rhythm. His practice combines intense sequences of colour within tightly gridded structures, generating a compelling tension between order and chaos. There is an agitation in Francis’s work - a pulse, a vibration - as if the forms and colours are trying to break free, bleed into one another, or shift beyond their boundaries. His longstanding engagement with science provides fertile ground for exploration, transforming the invisible and the imagined into striking visual language. While technological feats inform his imagery, Francis reminds us that the true marvel lies in the unknown, where questions often prove more intriguing than answers. For TRACING ECHOES, Francis presents new paintings, charcoal drawings, and a significant new commission for Solstice: Listening Field, the artist’s first moving image work. This immersive piece expands his visual vocabulary into time-based media, offering audiences a fresh perspective on his ongoing investigations into rhythm, perception, and the unseen.